2 weeks Ago By Olivia Ireland
The Coalition have lashed Labor’s pledge to wipe a fifth off 3 million Australians’ student debts as unfair to people without a study loan, opening an election battleground for a fight on the $16 billion policy. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Sunday that his government would shave $5500 off the average higher education loan debt of just over $27,000 if re-elected in an attempt to inspire young voters grappling with the cost of living. Students will receive relief from HECS loans from June 2025.
Credit: Louise Kennerley Opposition frontbencher Paul Fletcher slammed the proposal as a desperate giveaway reminiscent of former Queensland premier Steven Miles, who went to an election promising free school lunches and 50 cent bus fares but still lost last month. “The Coalition believes that this is a profoundly unfair policy,” Fletcher told Radio National on Monday. He said it would cost all 27 million Australians but only benefit 3 million.
“People who have the benefit of a tertiary education will have much higher lifetime earnings than the average across the community and therefore it’s appropriate that they bear some of the cost of their education,” Fletcher said. Nationals Leader David Littleproud also questioned the policy’s funding, saying on the ABC the government would “struggle” to afford it. The government will introduce a bill on the policy , which also includes people with TAFE and apprenticeship loans, next year but it is unlikely to pass before the election, which is due by May, setting it up as a clash for the poll.
The opposition has not explicitly said how they would vote on it. Student loans do not hit the federal budget bottom line directly as the government makes a return on the debts. But the level of debt is accounted for in every budget and affects the government’s total net debt levels.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the policy was not being hidden despite being calculated outside the main body of the budget. “This legislation is the first legislation we’ll introduce if we’re re-elected next year and all of the budget details of course will be included,” he told Radio National. “It will be transparent, and we’ve put out the estimated costs of these measures in the announcement that we made yesterday.
” Under the policy, the minimum payment threshold – the earnings at which a person begins to repay their student loan – rise more than $10,000 a year. From next financial year, a university graduate would not have to start repaying their HELP debt until they earn $67,000 a year, up from $54,435. Apprentices who successfully complete their training already get a 20 per cent discount on their HELP loans.
Albanese used a Sunday rally in Adelaide to officially announce the reforms after they were first revealed by this masthead on Friday. “This will help everyone with a student debt right now, whilst we work hard to deliver a better deal for every student in the years ahead,” he said. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis.
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